The present invention relates to a method for registering tickets and an electronic ticket for executing the method in accordance with the precharacterising clause of claims 1 and 8 respectively.
The present invention relates to the registration of objects in a delimited space, in order to establish a service which is to be purchased and/or a defined presence. This field is also known as “electronic ticketing” or “fare management”. The term “electronic ticket” or simply “ticket” is synonymously used instead of object in this document. In technical terms, such a ticket is usually a so-called “SmartCard”. In other nomenclatures, the term transponder is also commonly used instead of SmartCard.
The document WO 01/03057 A1 [1] discloses a method for detecting objects by means of a transponder, wherein a first information unit is transmitted in the frequency range 127 kHz to the transponder when a detection zone is entered, thereby waking up said transponder. On the basis of the information which is contained in the first information unit, a send module which is present on the transponder is activated immediately or following a delay, in order at least once to transmit a second information unit to a receive unit which is located in the detection zone.
The method and system for registering tickets as disclosed in the document EP 1,210,693 B1 [2] differ in that a receiving module which is present on the ticket is “woken up” from a sleep state by means of a first information unit and is periodically switched to active. Using further information units, a bidirectional communication is established on a higher frequency of e.g. 868 MHz by a send/receive unit which is assigned to the detection zone, and the relevant presence of a ticket is registered as a ticket record.
EP 0,766,215 B1 [3] proposes a method in which an electronic ticket can be woken up in various stages. A level detector is initially provided for this purpose, whereby only wake-up telegrams on a low frequency of e.g. 6.78 MHz of a defined minimum level result in a first activation. In a subsequent method step, provision is made for checking whether the received wake-up telegram has the predetermined modulation. If this modulation is recognised as correct, a further circuit part is activated and inter alia the correspondence of an access code with a security code which is stored on the ticket is checked on a higher layer.
The aforementioned systems, as described in accordance with [1] and [2], have the so-called “timing mode” in common: as a result of waking up and periodically activating either the send module and/or receive module which is located on the ticket, the power consumption is actually reduced very clearly in comparison with a permanent activation. In many cases, the ticket is woken up in this way without a subsequent registration taking place or being allowed to take place, as is the case when an accompanying person who is carrying such a ticket merely stays on the platform. The “timing mode” method featuring a single prior wake-up has the serious disadvantage that a significant share if not the largest share of the battery power which is available on the ticket must be used in order to ensure that, during the overall journey, the ticket periodically becomes briefly active (“wakes up”) in the agreed time slot pattern and must switch on its receiver, e.g. on the frequency 868 MHz, merely for the purpose of re-establishing its synchronisation. In this case, a communication for the purpose of actual detection takes place only very briefly and preferably only once per journey section.